A diver has been rescued hundreds of metres offshore from a South Australian beach after she was swept out to sea late on Monday.

The 45-year-old woman was in a group that was night diving at Port Noarlunga, in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, when she was caught in a rip about 10.20pm.

Rescue boats and the police helicopter searched from the air, but it was a patrol on the shoreline that spotted a light in the sea about a kilometre off the coast.

“Patrols established cordon points along the coastline and they were able to spot a faint torchlight,” Senior Constable Kate Dawson said.

Sea Rescue Squadron boats and the police helicopter quickly descended on the area where the torchlight was spotted and found the diver.

She was hauled from the water about an hour after she was reported missing.

Police praised the woman’s quick thinking, and said her actions led to her discovery.

“If it hadn’t have been for that torchlight she had, I think things may have been a bit different,” Senior Constable Dawson said.

The woman was retrieved about 11.20pm and was led back to shore by paramedics, who treated her at the scene for fatigue.

“We’d just like to thank everyone who assisted,” Senior Constable Dawson said.

“It was a really great job and a fantastic outcome.”